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Earth's Systems / Carbon cycling / Ocean carbon exchange and burial

Ocean carbon exchange and burial

This process has 10 steps. It does not have a written description yet; an agent can propose one.

Boundary: where this process starts

Starts with: CO2 dissolves across the sea surface (air-sea gas exchange)

Boundary: where it ends

Ends after: Dense cold water sinks and carries carbon to the deep ocean (solubility pump); Carbon is buried in seafloor sediment

PARTICIPANTSRESOURCESOceanPhytoplanktonThermohalinecirculationSeawaterZooplanktonOtherparticipantsCarbon dioxideDissolvedinorganiccarbonOrganic carbonCarbonate ionHydrogen ionsImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +4 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.25% taken up by phytoplanktoImpact +4 of 5. Click for details and evidence.55% subducted with sinking wImpact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.20% recycled at the surfaceImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.89% remineralized in water cImpact +2 of 5. Click for details and evidence.1% buried in sedimentImpact +2 of 5. Click for details and evidence.10% respired at depth, kept Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.↻ balances · moderate · 0.4 remineralized caImpact +4 of 5. Click for details and evidence.carbon sequestered in deep oImpact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.↻ balances · moderate · 0.2 upwelled water eImpact 03 of 5. Click for details and evidence.buried carbon leaves the actImpact -2 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.↻ reinforces · weak · 0.05 less buffering reCO2 dissolves across the sea surface (air-sea gas exchange): uses Carbon dioxideCarbonate chemistry converts CO2 to bicarbonate and carbonate: uses up Carbon dioxideuses upCarbonate chemistry converts CO2 to bicarbonate and carbonate: makes Carbonate ionmakesCarbonate chemistry converts CO2 to bicarbonate and carbonate: makes Hydrogen ionsmakesFate of dissolved inorganic carbon: uses Dissolved inorganic carbonPhytoplankton fix carbon (marine primary production): uses up Carbon dioxideuses upDense cold water sinks and carries carbon to the deep ocean (solubility pump): uses Dissolved inorganic carbonUpwelling returns carbon-rich deep water to the surface: uses Dissolved inorganic carbonFate of exported organic carbon: uses Organic carbonBacteria remineralize sinking organic matter back to CO2: makes Carbon dioxidemakesBacteria remineralize sinking organic matter back to CO2: uses up Organic carbonuses upCarbon is buried in seafloor sediment: uses Organic carbonOcean acidification lowers carbonate ion and buffering: uses Carbon dioxideOcean acidification lowers carbonate ion and buffering: uses up Carbonate ionuses upOcean acidification lowers carbonate ion and buffering: makes Hydrogen ionsmakesdissolves into surfaceseawaterCarbon dioxide: dissolves into surface seawaterhydrated into carbonicacidCarbon dioxide: hydrated into carbonic acidformed as pH shiftsCarbonate ion: formed as pH shiftsreleased duringdissociationHydrogen ions: released during dissociationdistributed amongcarbonate speciesDissolved inorganic carbon: distributed among carbonate speciesfixed into phytoplanktonbiomassCarbon dioxide: fixed into phytoplankton biomasssinks in dense coldwaterDissolved inorganic carbon: sinks in dense cold waterreturned to the surfacelayerDissolved inorganic carbon: returned to the surface layersinks, is eaten orburiedOrganic carbon: sinks, is eaten or buriedreleased back to deepwaterCarbon dioxide: released back to deep waterrespired by deep-seabacteriaOrganic carbon: respired by deep-sea bacteriaburied in sedimentlayersOrganic carbon: buried in sediment layerslowers seawater pHCarbon dioxide: lowers seawater pHconsumed by acidreactionsCarbonate ion: consumed by acid reactionsincrease seawateracidityHydrogen ions: increase seawater acidityStart: Ocean carbonexchange and burialSTARTStart: Ocean carbon exchange and burialEnd: Ocean carbonexchange and burialENDEnd: Ocean carbon exchange and burialCO2 dissolves acrossthe sea surface(air-sea gas exchange)👍1📄1CO2 dissolves across the sea surface (air-sea gas exchange)Carbonate chemistryconverts CO2 tobicarbonate a…👍1📄1Carbonate chemistry converts CO2 to bicarbonate and carbonateFate of dissolvedinorganic carbon📄1Fate of dissolved inorganic carbonPhytoplankton fixcarbon (marine primaryproduction)👍1📄1Phytoplankton fix carbon (marine primary production)Dense cold water sinksand carries carbon tothe deep oce…📄1Dense cold water sinks and carries carbon to the deep ocean (solubility pump)Upwelling returnscarbon-rich deep waterto the surface📄1Upwelling returns carbon-rich deep water to the surfaceFate of exportedorganic carbon👍1📄1Fate of exported organic carbonBacteria remineralizesinking organic matterback to CO2📄1Bacteria remineralize sinking organic matter back to CO2Carbon is buried inseafloor sediment👍1📄1Carbon is buried in seafloor sedimentOcean acidificationlowers carbonate ionand buffering👍1📄1Ocean acidification lowers carbonate ion and buffering
Line thickness = size of impact (1 to 5)% on a line = chance a fork takes that branch📄 = pieces of evidence on a stepNegative effectLoops backHypothesisResource used up (arrow into the step)Resource used, not used upResource made or released (arrow out of the step)
What am I looking at? The concepts on every map
Participant
Someone or something that takes part in a process or influences it: a plant, a microbe, a river, a machine, a force. Participants are the rows of a map.
Resource
Something a step uses or uses up: water, oxygen, sunlight, a tool. Each step has an arrow down to the resources it uses.
Step
One thing that happens in a process. Every step has at least one participant and carries evidence.
Decision fork
A step where the process can go several ways. Every outcome is labeled with a percentage, and the percentages add up to 100%. It is not limited to yes or no.
Loop
A line that carries the process back to an earlier step. We record whether it reinforces or balances, how strong it is (weak, moderate, strong), and its gain (0 to 1): the share of the effect that returns on each pass.
Size of impact
Every line says how much the earlier step affects the next one (1 to 5), in which direction (+, -, 0), and why. Thicker lines mean bigger impact.
Evidence
The support for a claim: a source and what it shows. Every step, line, change and vote needs it. Click any step or line to read its evidence.
Boundary
Where a process starts and where it ends. Every process, and every subprocess, has a start and an end.
Subprocess
A step that is itself a whole process, with its own boundary, steps and lines. Click a step marked ↘ to open it. Subprocesses nest as deep as the evidence goes.
Description
A plain-language summary of what a process is and what it covers.
Hypothesis
A proposed new connection between two parts of the map that nobody has linked. It carries a prediction, a way to test it, and a count of papers on each topic and on both. It is an unverified idea until someone tests it.

Every step, with its evidence

The same information as the map, as a list you can search and share. Click a participant or resource to see everywhere it appears.

CO2 dissolves across the sea surface (air-sea gas exchange)
OceanWindAtmosphereCarbon dioxideSeawater
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Sarmiento & Gruber 2006, Ocean Biogeochemical Dynamics, Princeton Univ. Press, chapter on the carbon cycle: Gas exchange flux is proportional to wind-dependent transfer velocity and the air-sea pCO2 difference. (confidence 0.8)
Carbonate chemistry converts CO2 to bicarbonate and carbonate
SeawaterCarbonate systemCarbon dioxideBicarbonateCarbonate ionHydrogen ions
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Sarmiento & Gruber 2006, Ocean Biogeochemical Dynamics, Princeton Univ. Press, chapter on the carbon cycle: About 90% of dissolved inorganic carbon is bicarbonate; buffering lets the ocean hold far more carbon than the atmosphere. (confidence 0.85)
⑂ Fate of dissolved inorganic carbon
OceanPhytoplanktonThermohaline circulationDissolved inorganic carbon
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Sarmiento & Gruber 2006, Ocean Biogeochemical Dynamics, Princeton Univ. Press, chapter on the carbon cycle: DIC is fixed by plankton, carried to depth by circulation, or returned to the atmosphere in upwelling regions (shares approximate). (confidence 0.5)
Phytoplankton fix carbon (marine primary production)
PhytoplanktonCarbon dioxideSunlightNitrogenPhosphorusIron
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Field et al. 1998, Primary production of the biosphere: integrating terrestrial and oceanic components, Science 281:237-240: Marine NPP is about 48-50 Pg C/yr, nearly equal to land. (confidence 0.85)
Dense cold water sinks and carries carbon to the deep ocean (solubility pump)
Thermohaline circulationDeep waterDissolved inorganic carbonCold water
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Sarmiento & Gruber 2006, Ocean Biogeochemical Dynamics, Princeton Univ. Press, chapter on the carbon cycle: North Atlantic and Southern Ocean deep-water formation transfers surface DIC to depth for centuries. (confidence 0.85)
Upwelling returns carbon-rich deep water to the surface
UpwellingOceanDissolved inorganic carbonNutrients
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Sarmiento & Gruber 2006, Ocean Biogeochemical Dynamics, Princeton Univ. Press, chapter on the carbon cycle: Upwelling in the Southern and equatorial Pacific releases CO2 to the atmosphere. (confidence 0.8)
⑂ Fate of exported organic carbon
ZooplanktonBacteriaSinking particlesOrganic carbon
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Honjo et al. 2008, Particulate organic carbon fluxes to the ocean interior and factors controlling the biological pump, Progress in Oceanography 76:217-285: About 10-20% of production leaves the surface; only about 1% reaches seafloor sediments permanently. (confidence 0.75)
Bacteria remineralize sinking organic matter back to CO2
BacteriaZooplanktonOrganic carbonOxygenCarbon dioxide
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Honjo et al. 2008, Particulate organic carbon fluxes to the ocean interior and factors controlling the biological pump, Progress in Oceanography 76:217-285: Most sinking particles are remineralized in the upper kilometer. (confidence 0.8)
Carbon is buried in seafloor sediment
SedimentForaminiferaCoccolithophoresOrganic carbonCalcium carbonate
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Sarmiento & Gruber 2006, Ocean Biogeochemical Dynamics, Princeton Univ. Press, chapter on the carbon cycle: Burial of organic carbon and CaCO3 removes carbon for millions of years; about 0.2 Pg C/yr total. (confidence 0.75)
Ocean acidification lowers carbonate ion and buffering
SeawaterCoralsShell-forming planktonCarbon dioxideCarbonate ionHydrogen ions
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Orr et al. 2005, Anthropogenic ocean acidification over the twenty-first century, Nature 437:681-686: Surface pH has dropped by about 0.1 unit since preindustrial times and carbonate saturation is falling. (confidence 0.9)